For over 30 years,
Shakti Maira has been making art that has been considered
'contemporary dharma art'. He will speak about some of the themes
his art has attempted to manifest and communicate, in a multiplicity
of forms and materials, which have emerged from his engagement with
spirituality.

This paper will
feature visual representation of mythic images by contemporary
Indian artists. Religious and mythic themes have always had
precedence over secular themes in Indian art, even in 20th c. where
myths have are used by artists for different reasons than they way
appeared in ancient Indian art. Neeta Omprakash will attempt
to explore the impact of socio-cultural and economic circumstances
on the consciously or circumstantially chosen mythic/religious
themes and styles of Indian artists, as well as the often
narcissistic or autobiographical nature of late 20th c. Indian
art.

Neeta Omprakash is an
art critic/curator based in Goa. She received her Masters in
Art History and Criticism from the M.S. University of Baroda.
She is particularly interested in the study of visual representation
of myths in Modern and contemporary Indian art.

Professor Binet will discuss the purifying, healing and
"transporting" aspects of the painting/creating process of her own
work as well as the work of artists Andrea McCluskey from the
United States and Moyo Okediji from Nigeria.

Marie-Jo Binet is a practicing artist Professor of French at
Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania

Everywhere/Nowhere, The Spiritual Temperament in Current American
Art -Kathryn
Myers

Professor Myers will situate the work of several contemporary
American artists from different generations and diverse religious
backgrounds within the complex history and “radical diversity” of
religion and spirituality in America.

Kathryn Myers is a
practicing painter and Professor of Art at the University of
Connecticut. In 2002 she had a Fulbright Fellowship to India.

In Search of a Sacred
Space – Gopika Nath

This presentation will
focus on Gopika Nath’s practice as a textile artist, within the
context of a vast inherited and living tradition of hand-crafting,
in an attempt to locate the sacred space that was once integral to
hand-crafting in ancient India. Drawing inspiration from history and
placing the ideals within the context of contemporary urban India,
Gopika reclaims the spiritual dimension that roots one to the
essence of being; from amidst the fragmented sense of existing,
which is the more familiar contemporary experience.

Gopika Nath is a
Textile Designer, a Fiber Artist, a Writer, Poet and Teacher. A
Fulbright Scholar, alumni of The Central School of Art and Design,
London, U.K, she lives and works in the national capital region.